As Nottingham Forest returned to action in the first match of the post-Britt Assombalonga era, two men provided some early reassurance that the Reds will still not be short of firepower.

A sublime finish from Ben Brereton and an instinctive one from Apostolos Vellios were enough to decide the outcome of a keenly-contested clash against Notts County at Meadow Lane, that had all the hallmarks of a local derby, despite it’s pre-season friendly label.

As Forest close in on the £2m signing of Newcastle United front man Daryl Murphy, a few of the current Forest forwards took the opportunity to stake their own claim for the shirt vacated by Assombalonga, when he departed for Middlesbrough in a £15m move earlier this week.

Jason Cummings looked both enthusiastic and a threat amid his first 45 minutes in a Forest shirt on home soil while, six minutes after the break, Brereton put Forest ahead with a composed conversion after coming off the bench.

Ben Brereton peels away in celebration after putting the Reds ahead

Fellow sub Vellios made certain of the win for Forest in the 88th minute, when he got himself in the right place at the right time, to slide home the ball.

With Barrie McKay, Zach Clough and Mustapha Carayol all producing positive moments, Forest boss Mark Warburton finds himself with plenty of attacking options, even if he will look to add to those with the addition of Murphy over the next 24 hours.

It was another experienced front man, in Notts’ Shola Ameobi who twice had close range efforts cleared off the line, as the home side started brightly.

The Reds were playing with a three-man central defence, although that included Armand Traore on the left side of the trio and he began the game with his usual brand of fearless ambition, when it came to pushing forward from the back.

Having seen the Magpies put them on the back foot a couple of times, Forest began to build their own momentum moving forward.

Jason Cummings, playing wide on the right, was not too far off target when he cut inside to let fly with his left boot, with his shot only a few feet high and wide. While Matty Cash and Ben Osborn, also got into good positions out wide, but saw their deliveries into the box well dealt with by the home side.

Barrie MacKay tries to get beyond Matt Tootle

Cummings was getting himself in good positions and saw another shot blocked following fine work from Clough. When Cash, pushing forward from the right wing-back position, delivered a fine low cross, the former Hibs man failed to properly connect as he slid in.

Forest were very fluid in midfield and in the final third, with only Andreas Bouchalakis, the midfielder on trial from Olympiacos ahead of a potential loan move, sitting deep in front of the back three. McKay was playing as the left sided wing-back, but occasionally traded positions with Osborn, who had started more centrally.

While Clough and Jamie Ward drifted around in the space behind Cummings, the lone central striker.

It was Cummings who continued to look the biggest threat, as he did well to work the ball out from under his feet on the edge of the box, to deliver a shot that dipped narrowly over.

Another Cash cross from the right, cut back cleverly across the face of goal, gave McKay a shooting chance, but his powerful effort was bravely blocked.

Notts were close to taking the lead when a moment of hesitation from Bouchalakis in midfield allowed Ameobi to run at the Forest defence, which backed off as the experienced forward lined up a shot that curled a whisker wide of the upright.

Jon Stead then really should have put the Magpies in front, but sent a free header straight into the grateful arms of Jordan Smith.

But as half time approached, Clough twice came close for Forest, with Adam Collin making a brilliant stop, holding on to the ball as the former Bolton man tried to guide a precise finish beyond his reach.

Forest made three changes at the interval, with Jack Hobbs, Carayol and Brereton introduced for Joe Worrall, Cash and Cummings.

Brereton almost had an immediate impact as he cut the ball back for Clough, but he prodded his shot wide. Brereton, freshly back from his triumph with England in the Under-19 European Championships, did not have to wait long for his moment, however.

Jason Cummings tries his luck for Forest

When fellow sub Carayol slotted a low ball across the face of goal, Brereton delivered a calm, clever finish, guided home with the outside of his right boot, six minutes into the second half.

Brereton was already looking a hungry, enthusiastic figure, and sent a looping header just over a few minutes later.

Although Smith did very well to claw away a placed header from Ameobi at the other end, as the Magpies went in search of an equaliser, amid a contest that continued to be rather more open than Forest would have liked.

Ward came close to a brilliant goal when he attempted a 20 yard lob that Collin did equally well to push on to the bar, at full stretch, as he back-peddled furiously.

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That was his last contribution before being included in a flurry of subs, that saw Tyler Walker, Thomas Lam, Vellios, Dimitar Evtimov and Toby Edser replace McKay, Traore, Ward, Smith and Osborn.

Carayol came close to a second goal for Forest, with a powerful shot that the Notts keeper took two attempts to save. While Brereton pressured again with a determined far post header, that he bundled wide of the post, under heavy pressure.

Carayol prodded and probed down the left side when Forest got him on the ball, but Notts continued to chip away for an equaliser themselves, after making a host of changes to give their side a completely different look.

Walker’s twisting run down the left side was brought to a halt by a smart save at his feet, while a driven Clough effort was guided into the side netting by a deflection, with the keeper beaten.

When Carayol pushed again, Vellios had timed his run to the near post perfectly, and slid home the game’s decisive goal, to cap off a positive evening for the Reds.